The Hakka (客家 Kèjiā) people came to various areas of Southern China — the West of Fujian, parts of Guangdong and Hainan — as refugees from one of Northern China's wars some centuries back. Hakka means "guest people". The Hakka language (客家话; Kèjiāhuà) is related to Northern dialects rather than to any other Southern languages.

The Hakka have a history of seafaring and foreign trade, and quite a few overseas Chinese have Hakka ancestry. A number of influential Chinese have been Hakka. Hong Xiuquan led the Tai Ping rebellion around 1860 and claimed to be Jesus' younger brother; he ruled a large chunk of China for a decade or so before his movement was put down. Sun Yat Sen (Sun Zhong Shan in Mandarin) led the revolution of 1911 and was President of China until his death in 1926.

The Soong family began with a Hakka lad from Hainan who went to the US. On his return to China, originally as a Methodist missionary, he became a publishing magnate in Shanghai. His four children, all educated in the US, became very influential. The eldest daughter, Soong Ai Ling, married a businessman who eventually became the richest man in Taiwan. Middle sister Soong Ching Ling married Sun Yat Sen. Youngest sister Soong Mei Ling married Chiang Kai Shek (Jiang Jieshi). The one son, T.V Soong, was a Harvard graduate with a Columbia PhD who served as Finance Minister and Governor of the central bank.